Heya folks!

This has been a pretty good week!  Actually, logistically, it's been luke-warm.  But I feel great!  I'll elaborate on both throughout this letter.  Also, I just finished my first transfer, and will be staying for another as I'm getting trained in Oberhausen and Mülheim!

The week was off to an interesting start by us going to Köln on preparation day.  That was certainly one of the coolest things I've seen since I've gotten here.  Beautiful city!  We stayed there for several hours before heading back to Oberhausen.  Then, we got a call from a couple of the brothers in our ward.  An older man, who wasn't a member, had been sent to the hospital, and they said that his life was in critical condition and we were asked to give him a blessing by one family member who happened to be a member.  We did, and then we waited in the room for a while.  For about ten minutes we stood in silence, then my companion got a prompting to have everyone sing a song.  We sang "I am a Child of God" and "Come Come Ye Saints."  The spirit filled the room.  The family members in the room who weren't members seemed to be very distraught when we came in, and tears rolled down some of their faces through the songs, but I believe that the prompting came because the songs would help to comfort the family.  It felt that it did.

The majority of the week was a little slow though.  We had most of our investigator appointments fall through and ended up with only two investigator lessons by the end of the week...both of which happened in the same night...in the same house, actually.  We met with our investigator Louis to teach him Chastity and the Word of Wisdom.  He accepted the commitment to follow both, and he's closer to being ready for baptism on the 12th of November!  He will be able to start attending church this Sunday...which means the first time he comes will be GENERAL CONFERENCE.  I really hope that gets him pumped about the gospel.  But anyways, we had a good lesson there and closed it, then when we did, his sister's boyfriend who was in the other room came out and told us that he liked what we had to say about chastity and abstaining from alcohol/tobacco, but he wanted us to explain where in the Bible it states not to drink coffee or tea.  At that point, we started the Restoration discussion with him, and he was pretty on board.  But then we tried explaining the apostasy, and that's where we hit a roadblock.  That, and modern prophets, seemed to disagree with his views a bit and our lesson progress halted.  He told us he was interested in talking more.  We'll return to him, and do our best to open the door to him about the reality of modern day prophets.  So that was cool, but I don't know if he'll be very open for the time being.  We have a good lineup this week for lessons provided they don't all fall through again.  Hoping to improve on what we had last week.

The week really turned around on Saturday.  The sisters in our district got a baptism with a Middle-Eastern man.  He'd actually been waiting for about six months, but had to wait to be baptized until he got a long term Visa (Middle Eastern immigrants are required to have long term residency authorizations prior to baptism because if they join the church, then have to get sent back to their home countries, it could threaten their lives.).   I've known him for a few weeks, and it was just very cool to see his desire be fulfilled.  He was one of the happiest people I've seen in a while.  The spirit was there so strongly, and he was crying tears of joy the whole time.

On Sunday the next day, I talked to a man in our ward who was baptized in July.  His name is Steven.  I wasn't there when the missionaries met him, but I've heard from him and the missionaries about how broken he felt in his life before finding the gospel.  The only Steven I have known is a very happy, and goofy, guy who is satisfied with everything, even if things go wrong, but I hear that his life was much darker before.  It's really great to have gotten to know him.

So these are a few of the experiences I've had this week, and I've managed to piece them all together.  The baptism on Saturday and my talks with Steven on Sunday have made me realize further what a blessing the gospel truly can be for people.  These guys are some of the happiest people I know.  My heart swelled so much for both of them when I began to comprehend a bit more of what they have felt, and are currently feeling.  And I've thought about what the gospel could do for the members of the family to the man afflicted in the hospital...I knew that the gospel made me happy, and others, before my mission, but this week increased my desire to share it perhaps more than anything has up to this point.  I'm so happy to be serving a mission now to bring this message, and this pure, eternal joy, to people.  I wish I had realized this earlier, and that I had made more of an effort to try and share this message throughout stages such as high school.  I did my best to help others be happy--not being close to perfect at it--but often did I fail to remember that the gospel is the greatest source of any lasting happiness.  Which brings me to one of my favorite mission-related scriptures from the Book of Mormon, in Alma 26:30:

"And we have suffered all manner of afflictions, and all this, that perhaps we might be the means of saving some soul; and we supposed that our joy would be full if perhaps we could be the means of saving some."

And that is really what I'm here to do.

Love you guys.  Hold down the fort for me in Idaho and Utah.

Elder Wallentine

Hey everyone!

I GOT ANOTHER NIECE?  I've been out for two and a half months and already have one new niece and nephew waiting at home for me.  Crazy stuff.  My family is probably going to double in size by the time I actually get back.  Anyways, tell little Wyatt Wallentine and Lilianna Whitten that Uncle Tyler / TyTy says hi.  They'll know what that means.

Anyways, it's been a good week!  We were able to get quite a bit done!  Actually, I don't know if I've shared this in the last email--I'm pretty sure I did--but an investigator named Louis that we have has
agreed to be baptized in November!  It's a little tentative, but we met with him again this week and I think he's been getting a lot more excited about baptism.  I'm hoping that he stays strong.  He has said
that he really does know that the church is true, and we're just waiting for him to be able to come to church, starting in October.  If he has a good experience, he says he will get baptized.

In addition, we've gained two new investigators.  One, as a matter of fact, is also named Louis.  But it's pronounced Loo-ees, and not loo-iss, so that distinction helps us.  I'll call him Louis 2 in the emails.  Anyways, he came to church on Sunday, and thought it was really cool.  We've scheduled a visit with him, loosely, for next Saturday.  However, he says his work schedule is unclear and the appointment could change.  The second one we gained is a lady from Syria that we met on the street right before church started, and we decided to invite her.  We did, and she accepted.  She loved it and we set a date to meet on Saturday!  I'm very excited for all that could, or hopefully WILL, be happening!  Miracles happen with people every day!

This has been an awesome, and very interesting, week for food.  You will be ecstatic to hear that I was finally able to have a Döner on Monday.  And it was awesome.  Also, I could have been blinded by fasting hunger then from a Monday fast so ALL THE BETTER.  Following that, on Thursday, my district decided to formally welcome me to the district (basically at the end of the first transfer) and brought me to a curry wurst stand (curry wurst = bratwurst chopped up with spicy curry sauce served with fries)  We got what they call a Sharfe-D, which means Spicy, and then a letter D out of a D-A rating scale, D being the spiciest available.   I am fairly certain that there is a hole burnt through my stomach now.  But, I did it.  With minimal tears shed.  I'll share some pictures from it below.  We also got fed a ton from members.  We had Schnitzel Wednesday with a family in our ward. That was good.  And one of the older ladies in the ward has been giving us food almost every day.  She's taking care of us well. Throughout it all, I continue to miraculously lose the weight that I gained in the MTC.  I love metabolism.

For P-Day today, we went to Köln/Cologne.  That was the funniest P-Day I've had yet.  We visited the massive Köln Dome, and got to walk to the top.  The spiral stair case we went up was quite the experience. I got pretty dizzy but we all made it up and down alive!  Then we went into the town nearby and walked around for a bit.  Super cool part of Germany!

Anyways, real quick, I was reading in 2 Nephi this morning and came across the following in chapter 4:

34 O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm.

35 Yea, I know that God will give liberally to him that asketh. Yea, my God will give me, if I ask not amiss; therefore I will lift up my voice unto thee; yea, I will cry unto thee, my God, the rock of my righteousness. Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee, my rock and mine everlasting God. Amen.

I think that one of the most important things that we can do throughout our lives is learning to put our whole trust in the Lord, in every aspect of our existences.  We may not always be inclined to comprehend difficult circumstances, and why or how such circumstances will bless us.  We may harden our hearts, try to force ourselves out, or cause ourselves to believe that we are cursed or abandoned.  But humility comes in those seemingly dire circumstances where we feel downtrodden.  It is then when we should remember what the gospel has, can, and will do for us if we simply shift our attention to the great things God has given us, show gratitude, and then plead for His help as we continue to do the best we can.  I have had a few moments on my mission so far where I have felt inadequate, weak, or so forth, but each moment has served as a stark reminder of what Heavenly Father is willing to do for us, so long as we have the faith to allow him.  My life is still significantly easier, I feel, than the lives of many that I encounter on the streets here, or many of you at home, but we all have challenges, or will have them, regardless, and God cares about all of us. He will bless all of us, if we show him our reliance and faith in him, whether we are burdened with problems great or small.  We need to show him that.  I'm grateful for the opportunities I've had so far to turn to Him, and notice His hand more and more in my life!  I love you guys.  I hope you're all doing great!

Love,
Elder Wallentine

PS Forgot to add picture of me with Elder Clements and Elder Stiles. Included now in this batch of photos. Photo proof that I am, in fact, here.

Hey folks!

This was a pretty darn good week!  I think that the highlight of it was definitely our baptism that we had for Vincent and Petra on Saturday.  I wasn't a huge part of the conversion process for them, and was only present for a few lessons prior to their baptism, but it was still a very cool experience to have!  Vincent said that he really felt like a new person after the baptism, and said he was feeling a change in his heart because of it.  I was very happy for them and it makes me want to work harder now to help others have the same joy they're feeling!  Also, I got to give a talk at the baptism and didn't completely butcher the grammar, *as far as I know*, so that was pretty fun!

We met with an investigator, Louis, who is from Cameroon, this week.  We had a lesson in the Plan of Salvation, and that was actually the first lesson I've taught over it in the mission field so far.  I felt the spirit very strongly, and I'm hoping that he did as well.  We got him to commit to baptism, as he has expressed willingness to do so, if he ends up being able to come to church.  We've set a tentative date for November 12th, and it has to be a bit later because he has quit his job in order to provide room for Sunday worship, but we have high hopes, and he does as well!  His sister has also been getting taught for a while.  We haven't gotten a commitment from her for baptism, because she was unable to attend our last lesson, but I'm really hoping things work out with her!

We had zone conference on Tuesday, and that was fun!  I got to see some friends I met in the MTC, as well as seeing TWO FORMER MAVERICKS, Elder Clements and Elder Stiles!  That was very cool to see them!

In other news, I got about halfway to being able to try a Döner this week.  I got a Pommesdöner, which is essentially the equivalent of emptying out a Döner into a to-go cup, then putting French fries in it.  It was really good.  Also, really unhealthy.  But that's less relevant.  I thought I could say that I had tried a Döner after that, but my companion says that I need to have a "real" one.  So the search continues.  Seriously, it shouldn't be this hard, but it helps provide an "exciting" side-story to my missionary work.

Language study is going well.  It's really odd right now, because my understanding dips up and down constantly.  We had a fast and testimony meeting yesterday, and a lady came up to give her testimony.  I understood everything she said and got super excited for a second.  Then like six more people came and I understood virtually NOTHING.  At was pretty funny, and really sums up my situation now with language.  But it's great, still.  It's coming along, and oh boy, it's a work in progress.

I read through my favorite, possibly, part of the Book of Mormon this week, through the end of Alma, through Helaman, and through 3 Nephi.  The crowning event of the Book of Mormon, as stated in the introduction to it, is Christ's visitation to the Americas, in 3 Nephi.  There are many chapters about His ministry to them, and I can't really select one passage specifically, because everything is SO GOOD in it.  But this really was a wonderful reading.  It has increased my love and testimony of Jesus Christ.  I think it's hard to comprehend just how truly significant His Atonement is for all of us.  I know I can't.  But every time I read the Book of Mormon, I can feel a bit more of that understanding increase.  He truly is our Savior and Redeemer.  I know it.  I can feel it.  Because of Him, we can be made entirely clean if we choose to come unto Him.  Because of Him, we really will live again!  I love the truths that the Book of Mormon provides about Him!  It's such a sacred, special gift! 

We explain a lot that the Book of Mormon works hand in hand with the Old and New Testament to testify of Christ.  I don't know if any of my non-Mormon friends read my emails often, but if they are, I ask them to read the Book of Mormon, and really seek to develop their love and testimony of Christ, as well as any members, because we all need to increase our faith in Him.  It makes our existence so much more beautiful to believe and know that we have a Redeemer!  We're told the following at the conclusion of the Book of Mormon, and I'll just leave you with this:

3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.

Thank you for your love and care and letters and support!  I love you all!  I look forward to hearing from you!

Love,

Elder Wallentine

Hey everyone!

It's been a great week!  We've been able to be pretty productive, although there are some times where we do have a bit of a problem being on time to some appointments due to public transportation hiccups and no fully proper planning on our parts.  But we're getting better and, again, things have generally gone pretty well!

I wrote about three new potential investigators last week.  Unfortunately, we've had pretty minimal luck reaching any of them.  Only one of them ever picked up, and when they did, they pretty quickly hung up.  We will still attempt to reach them throughout the next while, but yeah, that was a bit of a bummer.  I'm hoping and praying that they will gain motivation to contact us!  We did gain another investigator besides those this week, who we visited.  He's from Iraq and cooked us a meal from there, and that was super good.  More importantly, I think that he seemed open to having more discussions about the gospel.  We taught the restoration, and he seemed interested, but simultaneously as though he wasn't significantly changed in belief.  We're hoping that this message will touch him more as we teach.

One cool thing that happened this week was when we went out to find on Wednesday, I believe.  Throughout that day we got nine new potential investigators!  They were all Muslim, actually, and that was pretty cool, we thought.  Some of them seemed interested in learning more simply to learn more and understand our religion better, but even that gives us the opportunity to teach them and give them the chance to feel the truthfulness of our message!    I'm hoping that something comes from this!

Also, we'll be having a baptism this Saturday for a couple, Vincent and Petra! They've been wanting to be baptized for months, so I haven't been here to see most of their progress, but they have been working to prepare themselves for it and are finally ready!  They're very excited!

For something less significant, I'm hearing many things about a classic Turkish food that is called a Döner which is huge in Germany.  I can't describe well it because I haven't had the privilege of trying it, but it's apparently an Eastern European styled burrito or taco, made with lamb meat, I think, and it's apparently really good.  I'm trying to convince my companion to stop by one of the stands to get one but he hates eating out and I'm just waiting.  It's apparently a big deal, though.  Most of the missionaries in my MTC group got them their first day, and the older missionaries in our district now are pressuring my companion to let me buy one.  I'm excited, but it's been three weeks since I arrived and I don't know when my chance will come.  Soon.  

Anyways.

The Freiburg, Germany temple was dedicated this week!  Elder Bednar and President Uchtdorf came, and we were able to see a broadcast of the cultural celebration the night before.  That was super cool.  It talked about the history behind the building of the temple, from World War II, through the Cold War and days of the GDR, and it's always great to hear or read about the entire process of getting that temple built!  It is truly a miracle!  And the dedication session the next morning was great as well.  We got to hear from both Elder Bednar and President Uchtdorf, as well as Elder Kearon.  Very glad to have been able to watch it!

One thing I want to write you guys about is what I've realized so far on a mission concerning the true power of prayer, and importance of it.  Throughout my life before my mission, I believe I took prayer seriously, and there were many testimony building experiences that I had with it.  But I don't think I necessarily understood the whole, foundational role that it could have in a person's life or testimony.  One scripture that I love is from Alma 5, concerning prayer, which says:

"44 For I am called to speak after this manner, according to the holy order of God, which is in Christ Jesus; yea, I am commanded to stand and testify unto this people the things which have been spoken by our fathers concerning the things which are to come.

45 And this is not all. Do ye not suppose that I know of these things myself? Behold, I testify unto you that I do know that these things whereof I have spoken are true. And how do ye suppose that I know of their surety?

46 Behold, I say unto you they are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God. Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself. And now I do know of myself that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit; and this is the spirit of revelation which is in me."

I love this scripture because it emphasizes the effort needed on our parts in order to gain firm testimonies, and come to learn and feel a conviction of the truth in our lives.  Sometimes, I've thought that if I prayed for a testimony, I would get it.  And that is true for so many circumstances. That's how I've come to learn the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon specifically, and I believe all people can receive a testimony of it through prayer.  But there are other times where I have prayed to have a stronger testimony, in general or in a specific topic, and I was not instantly blessed with a burning and full knowledge of the truth in my heart.  But it has required diligent effort on my part, both through prayer and studies surrounding it, through which my testimony has been gradually developed.  And, actually, even with the Book of Mormon, I had to study and read it before I gained the more clear manifestations of the Spirit that I have received.  Developing faith is a process of faith in and of itself.  I felt down at times where I did pray for a conviction over things of the gospel, and felt as though I didn't receive it.  But I felt that way only because the answer I received wasn't the one I was exactly expecting.  I looked a bit into this through this week, and read through the Teachings of the Presidents sections on faith/testimony/prayer.  President Hinckley taught:  

"This witness, this testimony, can be the most precious of all the gifts of God. It is a heavenly bestowal when there is the right effort. It is the opportunity, it is the responsibility of every man and woman in this Church to obtain within himself or herself a conviction of the truth of this great latter-day work and of those who stand at its head, even the living God and the Lord Jesus Christ."

What I'm meaning to say about prayer is this:  Pray about everything.  Pray for help, and pray to thank.  It's a precious gift.  It is the means of receiving a testimony, and help with virtually all things in our lives.  But, have real intent.  Seek to find answers through your own efforts in the times you aren't praying.  Show God our willingness to work, and pray to him for help.  If at first you feel as though you aren't given a testimony, do not be discouraged, but continue searching for this precious gift!  It is all the more precious when you know you've worked...hard...for it!  While some answers seem to come quick and all at once for some, either people or topics, God also will give them to us more gradually, line upon line.

Another block of writing.  Sorry about that.  I don't expect you to have to read that all, and trust me when I say that I'm not trying to be prideful or pretentious or "holier than thou" when I type these things.  I hope this doesn't come off that way.  I'm just getting sort of "punched in the face" with these things...the mission, funnily, does that to us.  I figured I might as well share these.

Thanks for the letters!  I love you guys and hope all is well at home!

Alles gut!

Love,

Elder Wallentine